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Ineednotenlarge，however，uponatopicwhichhasbeensooftenexpounded。Ithinkthatatpresentthetendencyisrathertodoinjusticetothecommon-senseembodiedinthissystem，tothesoundnessofitsaims，andtoitsvalueinmanypracticalandimmediatequestions，thantooverestimateitsclaimtoscientificaccuracy。
Thatclaimmaybesaidtohavebecomeobsolete。
Onepoint，however，remains。
Theholdersofsuchadoctrinemust，itissaid，havebeenwithoutthebowelsofcompassion。Ricardo，ascriticsobservewithundeniabletruth，wasaJewandamemberofthestock-exchange。NowJews，inspiteofShylock’sassertions，andcertainlyJewishstockbrokers，arenaturallywithouthumanfeeling。Ifyouprickthem，theyonlybleedbanknotes。Theyarefittedtobecapitalists，whothinkofwagesasaniteminanaccount，andofthelaboureraspartofthetoolsusedinbusiness。Ricardo，however，wasnotameremoney-dealer，norevenawalkingtreatise。Hewasakindly，liberalman，desiroustobe，ashenodoubtbelievedhimselftobe，insympathywiththeleadersofpoliticalandscientificthought，andfullysharingtheiraspirations，Nodoubthe，likehisfriends，wasmoreconspicuousforcoolnessofheadthanforimpulsivephilanthropy。Likethem，hewasonhisguardagainst’sentimentalism’and’vaguegeneralities，’andthoughtthatahastybenevolencewasapttoaggravatetheevilswhichitattacked。
TheUtilitariansnaturallytranslatedallaspirationsintologicaldogmas；
butsomepeoplewhodespisedthemashard-heartedreallytookmuchlesspainstogiveeffecttotheirownbenevolentimpulses。NowRicardo，inthismatter，wasatonewithJamesMillandBentham，andespeciallyMalthus。49TheessentialdoctrineofMalthuswasthatthepoorcouldbemadelesspoorbyanimprovedstandardofprudence。InwritingtoMalthus，Ricardoincidentallyremarksuponthepossibilityofraisingtheconditionofthepoorby’goodeducation’andtheinculcationofforesightinthegreatmatterofmarriage。50IncidentalreferencesinthePrinciplesareinthesamestrain。HeacceptsMalthus’sviewofthepoor-laws，andhopesthat，byencouragingforesight，wemaybydegreesapproach’asounderandmorehealthfulstate。’51HerepudiatesemphaticallyasuggestionofSaythatoneofhisargumentsimplies’indifferencetothehappiness’
ofthemasses，52andholdsthat’thefriendsofhumanity’shouldencouragethepoortoraisetheirstandardofcomfortandenjoyment。Thelabourers，asheelsewhereincidentallyobserves，are’byfarthemostimportantclassinsociety。’53Howshouldtheynotbeifthegreatesthappinessofthegreatestnumberbethelegitimateaimofalllegislation?
ItistruethatinhisargumentRicardoconstantlyassumesthathis’naturalprice’willalsobetherealpriceoflabour，theassumptionthatthelabourers’wagestendtoaminimumisabaseforhisgeneralarguments，theinconsistency，iftherebeone，iseasilyintelligible，RicardoagreedwithMalthusthat，thoughthestandardmightberaised，andthougharisewastheonlywaytoimprovement，thechancesofsucharisewerenotencouraging，improvedwages，ashesays，54mightenablethelabourertolivemorecomfortablyifonlyhewouldnotmultiply。But’sogreatarethedelightsofdomesticsociety，thatinpracticeitisinvariablyfoundthatanincreaseofpopulationfollowsanamendedconditionofthelabourer，’andthustheadvantageislostassoonasgained。
Ihavetriedtoshowwhatwasthelogicalconvenienceoftheassumption。Ricardo，whohasalwaystostateanargumentatthecostofanintellectualcontortion，iscontenttolaydownarulewithoutintroducingtroublesomequalificationsandreserves。
Yetheprobablyheldthathispostulatewasacloseapproximationtothefacts。Lookingattheactualstateofthingsattheworsttimeofthepoor-law，andseeinghowsmallweretheprospectsofstirringthelanguidmindofthepaupertogreaterforethought，hethoughtthathemightassumetheconstancyofanelementwhichvariedsoslowly
